The best tours and activities in Hamburg

When people think of Hamburg, the first thing they think of is the port with its ships, shipyards and cranes. But the Hanseatic city has a lot more to offer than that.

Port tours in Hamburg

At the port of Hamburg, there are not only delicious fish sandwiches, you can also see huge container ships up close on a port tour. Barkassen-Meyer, for example, has been offering tours on the Elbe for 100 years, sailing tourists past huge pots and large cranes.

A ticket for a one-hour harbor tour costs 20 euros for adults and 10 euros for children (up to 14 years of age). Rides are free for children under the age of 4.

“Rocker tours” in St. Pauli

A popular place for bachelor parties and long nights of partying is the Reeperbahn in Hamburg’s St. Pauli district. There you can move from bar to bar, visit travesty shows or take part in a tour of a real neighborhood legend. Eddy Kante, Udo Lindenberg’s former bodyguard, takes those interested on an unforgettable “rocker tour” – and tells stories about Hamburg’s red-light district.

St. Nikolai Church

Hamburg does not impress with its nightlife, but also with its architecture. The ruins of the main church of St. Nikolai are considered the city’s landmark. Visitors can take the elevator up the tower and enjoy a breathtaking view over the whole of Hamburg from the viewing platform at a height of 76 meters. If you want to learn more about the history of the church, its destruction by a bomb attack and today’s memorial, you should take a tour of the museum.

Graffiti courses

A visit to the Wall of Fame is a must for graffiti fans. The city of Hamburg gave more than 100 sprayers and graffiti artists the opportunity to immortalise themselves on a 500-metre-long flood protection wall on Bostelbeker’s main dike. The street art art project is constantly growing and changing. If you want to become an artist yourself, you can take one of the Brain2Canvas creative action painting or graffiti courses and even learn how to create works in the Banksy style.

E-foil surfing

In the beautiful water park Dove-Elbe you don’t need waves to surf – thanks to the electric motor, adrenaline fans can “fly” over the lake on the e-foil surfboard at up to 35 kilometers per hour. The e-foil tours start at the Tatenberger dike. From there it continues in the direction of Bergedorf to the Krapphofschleuse and then back again.

Those who like it slower can paddle across the lake on a stand-up paddle board or be pulled through the water on a dive scooter at a speed of six kilometers per hour.

Participation in a two-hour e-foil tour costs 200 euros, two hours of SUP costs 25 euros, 45 minutes of dive scooters cost 40 euros.

Bike tour through the St. Pauli-Elbtunnel

How about a bike tour through the St. Pauli-Elbtunnel for a change? The more than 100-year-old, 610-meter-long Old Elbe Tunnel has been closed to cars since 2019. Today you can cross it on foot or by bike – and admire historic wall tiles in the past.

The north entrance of the tunnel is near the underground station “Landungsbrücken”.